The shadow titan didn't have time to react. He didn't expect that at all, and so his body was smashed against the meteor… the huge projectile hit the enemy and the surface of the world, but the impact had decreased since it was fired horizontally instead of vertically, or diagonally like usual.
The whole world trembled when the impact happened, the massive meteor kept rolling on the surface like a ball, and in the end, it destroyed half of that continent. The other half was completely taken over by earthquakes that opened fissures all around. Tsunamis began to cross the entire globe, and dormant volcanoes entered to active states. All that happened while Jake was falling from the sky… somehow, he stayed conscious, but he was in a much worse shape than before.
Louise helped Jake land with wind magic, and the people around had goosebumps when they saw his Body… he looked like one big wound now. It was kind of amazing that he didn't lose the will to fight after getting hurt like that, but those close to him knew how stubborn Jake was…
"Even the sword is…" Arilene said while frowning.
"Well, it is mine now. It belongs to a son of Sparda… so you can't complain," Jake said.
"The heck are you saying? Just stand still. The more you move, the worse your body gets," Lana said.
"No can do. It isn't over yet…" Jake said while stumbling, trying to get up.
The others realized that the quest wasn't over. They didn't receive that notification… it was insane that someone could take a hit of that and still survive. The world was already falling apart thanks to the meteor, and the enemy was still alive…
The enemy's aura still was there… weakened, but it still was there. Many felt that it was the perfect moment to finish him off, but it was hard to say if they could. They had seen a few moments ago what the shadow titan could pull off when he was enraged, after all.
"While we can fight back to some extent, we can't defeat him…" Louise declared. "Before the worse happens and your sword breaks, we need to work together, Jake. We will use all of our power to let your sword absorb our mana, and then you will use that technique once again. We won't have any other chance to do this."
Jake wanted to say many things about that, mainly that he didn't want it, but considering his body… he was at the limit. His sword was just like him, about to fall apart… he wanted to solve his feud with that asshole once and for all and by himself, but his current self wasn't strong enough… the enemy had too many tricks up his sleeve.
Just when Jake was wondering what he should do, the world began to get darker… several long shadows began to cover the whole sky, and they seemed like fingers… Jake knew what was happening, he had experienced that before, and his expression darkened.
"... Try to leave this world, any of you," Jake said.
"What for?" Lana asked. "It would be a waste to move away now and try to return…"
"Just try it…" Jake said.
"... What? I can't even see my status screen?" Lana asked after she tried to check things.
"Same here… it seems that the enemy is no longer pulling his punches," Louise said. "Some people still are against this plan, but in this situation, they don't have any other choice. What are you going to do, Jake?"
"... I would rather die than work with those that tried to kill me once in this scenario," Jake replied. "But I can't take full responsibility for the lives of everyone here…"
"Hey, don't use us as an excuse for that," Karina said and then looked at the sky turning dark like night. "That is what I would have said in any other situation… Well, here it comes."
Karina said and then slightly attacked Jake's sword. He felt the mana inside growing. She had good control over her energy, considering how little mana Jake managed to infuse inside…
"I hope that you can use my mana to defeat the enemy without killing yourself," Julian said. "There are worse things in life than betrayal, Jake. Living in the past and forgetting the present and the future is one of them."
"You should make fortune cookies with tour wisdom," Jake said.
"I suppose with this, I have paid my debt," Arilene said. "Actually, you would be owing me one since you broke the sword, so you would better return."
"Maybe I should let the enemy destroy this world, and it would be less annoying than being in debt to others," Jake shrugged.
"You are unbelievable…" Arilene said and then sighed.
"Too many people already died here, and I couldn't save them," Lana said. "You can't die and make all the effort that I put to go to waste."
"You heard your pseudo little sister," Louise said. "We have a lot to talk about after this."
"... Do you all realize that you all are raising the largest death flags in history?" Jake asked.
"You all sure are enjoying yourselves considering the situation," Frederick suddenly approached alongside many others. "It would be stupid to keep saying how much we don't trust you at this point in time… but after this fight, we at least can recognize that only you can properly stop that thing."
"From allies to enemies, and from enemies to temporary allies… life sure is strange," Milena said.
"We don't have time to hesitate. Hurry up, everyone," Helena said.
The mages had an easy time transferring their mana to Jake. Even the archers had been quite fast… Jake could tell that they had recovered a good part of their parameters during the fight. That thing about their powers being sealed was actually true… in any case, whether they liked it or not, everyone put their trust in Jake, and even the almost broken sword was answering to it. The weapon completely nullified the dark aura of the shadow titan that covered the world… at least in the region where they were at it… However, they couldn't relax. The sky was completely dark, and they could see the shadows moving downward.
"Last time, he failed at getting my trait, but he is doing things slowly to make sure that the same thing won't happen…" Jake said while looking at his sword vibrating while emitting a power light-blue glow of mana. "In any case, once the shadows begin to dissipate, use the chance to escape, and don't wait for me."
"We will be waiting for you, Jake," Louise said. "Just take your time coming to terms with your past."
Jake sighed, and then he dashed toward the direction the enemy ended up. He didn't have much time, so even though his body still was pretty messed up, he couldn't take it slowly… It didn't take long for him to find the enemy. The shadow titan was hard to miss, after all.
The enemy had his arms opened and from his back came the shadow that was covering the whole world and about to crush everything in a sigh.
"Does that bring back some good memories?" The shadow titan said. "Did you forget that pain? I will make sure that this will be even more unforgettable."
"You are a piece of shit, but your words were kind of cool now. It made me recall one of my favorite villains," Jake said and then raised his sword. "It is a pity that I can't use omnislash version five, but this will do the job… behold the combined power of ants, you fucking parasite."
The shadow titan knew that they had done in the last few minutes, but he decided to wait because that would be his gold chance. If their attacks collide, then that world truly will be destroyed instantly and he will kill and absorb all of their traits. He underestimated them several times, but he was going all out now and his chances of losing were none.
The shadow titan pointed his hands at Jake and then a dark sphere appeared there… one that began to pull everything towards it…
"How much mana does that asshole have… using two spells like this at the same time like it is nothing," Jake wondered. "He was supposed to be weaker, but yet… no, maybe he turned his power into energy that he can use. That would explain his size and the fact that bis attacks can't be absorbed."
The dark sphere began to grow in power and size, and Jake wasn't planning to let that grow even bigger… since the rocks and trees that were touched by it only made the thing grow.
"A trait that can convert matter into energy?" Jake thought. "Or is that just the nature of the spell? There is a chance that my attack will end up being absorbed by it…"
There was no time to hesitate now… Jake was about to fire his best attack, if he fails, they won't win in any other scenario as well, so it would be better to accept that…
Jake swung his sword, and the Powerful beam of energy even pushed him backward, but even without proper footing in that world was about to collapse, Jake managed to stop himself… at least for a short while since the enemy attacked as well. The dark sphere began to emit a purple aura that matched his attack in terms of power, and the impact began to push Jake away while the shadow titan didn't move an inch…
"Fuck, not even like this…" Jake thought.
The two beams of energy kept going at each other and created some distance between Jake and the enemy. He tried to increase the output of the attack instead of going slowly like that, but the energy didn't obey him. That was what Jake got from relying on others…
The shadow in the sky began to approach more and more, and eventually, it even reached the shadow titan it began to pass him like nothing was wrong, but the mountains in the area began to be smashed.
"Come on… come on!" Jake muttered and then dashed forward.
The pressure of both attacks pushed Jake away, it was too strong, but he insisted on moving forward. His skin began to burn, and his clothes began to melt… the area around had become a sea of lava thanks to both attacks. Everything was melting, so that didn't come as a surprise. What came as a surprise was when the sword began to break… shards of the mithril began to fall apart…
"If it is like this, then…" Jake said while looking at his hands.
Jake was pushed backward when he began to hold the sword with his left hand alone, but then he touched the remaining blade of his weapon and then cut his hand on it. Blood began to drip on the attack to the point that even his technique changed color… he was losing a lot of blood, but the effect had been that expressive. Moreover, as if it was reacting to his determination to die if he had to in order to defeat the enemy, the energy beam grew in size, and the shadow titan began to be pushed away.
"What the…" The shadow titan said in shock. "This can't be possible… you are truly planning to die to take me? How pathetic can you be?"
"Shut it, asshole," Jake said. "This is my final goal. It doesn't matter if I die after this. I will at least die with that satisfaction."
Pride Incarnate and Jake's reverse envy answered to his determination to die in order to defeat the enemy, so his parameters increased. He finally was able to control all that mana and then unleashed all of it toward the enemy.
The shadow titan bit his lips when he considered the possibility of defeat… that could only be a joke… he wouldn't accept defeat at the hands of anyone, much less at the hands of someone who was so weak and couldn't do a thing by himself…
The Shadow titan increased the output of his attack to the max and made the shadow on the skies disappear. Still, instead of blue, they turned red due to the destruction spreading. The world couldn't endure the pressure of all that crazy mana colliding against each other.
Jake clicked his tongue when he saw the techniques getting on equal levels again… he at least wanted to see the enemy dead before dying, but it seemed that he wouldn't have that luxury.
"Why won't you die?" Jake asked before putting his left hand on the beam of energy.
The power of the attack exploded, and a massive boost on the attack was sent toward the enemy. Before long, the shadow titan was enveloped by a massive light curtain. Still, he had his final card as well… he made his body explode to counter the attack.
In the next moment, the world exploded in trillions of pieces…
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